I think eots is completely insane but I tend to agree with him (cautiously) on this subject.
I have never seen much good come of medicating children for ADHD. I think the cure is worse than the *disease*...which really isn't a disease at all, it's BEHAVIOR, genetics, environment, patterning...or a combination of them all.
My youngest is 9 years old. He has been in cosntant motion since birth. He tends to jump up and throw himself into physical activity just at the point of sleep...as a baby he would roll in a circle for hours if we didn't stop him, physically. He would watch Pinnochio straight through from the age of 6 months.
He jumps and bounces continually; I couldn't take him to church until he was about 7 because I couldn't effectively restrain him, and it was just too exhausting to manage him.
He has a hitch in his getalong...people can't see it unless they're pretty darned observant but it causes him to fall and not be as fast as he might be; he wears glasses.
He's smart, though..and he doesn't have any trouble concentrating. He likes to make really obnoxious, loud, senseless noises (waAAAAAHHHHHHHHH) over and over, he has a tendency to shout but doesn't have any hearing issues.
So he's a hyperactive kid.
My daughter is supremely hyperactive...she doesn't quit moving from the time she wakes up until she falls asleep. She doesn't have any difficulty sleeping though...but right up until the time she falls asleep, she is up and racing around doing stuff.
I had many people suggest I have the kids tested, and many people say "oh my gosh, what is WRONG with them?"...including my MOTHER, who is a NURSE. I maintained that there's nothing wrong with THEM. They are themselves, different, and unique, and very active and inquisitive and physical...they each have different things that can be considered *faults* or *disorders*...if I chose to seek diagnosis. But those very faults and disorders can be CHANNELED into positive character traits, and that is what I have been busting my ass to do since they were born.
I've aged. I don't have time to go to the gym or date, and I don't have the energy or the desire to. All my (considerable) focus, attention and concentration is on shaping them, with all their *faults*..into successful, productive members of society...without saddling them with the stigma of a diagnosis at a young age that will seriously curtail any chance they have of being successful or productive.
Don't get the diagnosis. Don't medicate him, unless he's having seizures (and even then, unless they're grand mal, medication isn't always the way to go). He doesn't need that shit. He needs to learn to cope with the issues he has. Tell the teachers to **** themselves, they have no business suggesting anybody get kids treated for behavior disorders, unless they're attacking other children or cutting up cats on the playground. If they are pressuring you, pull him out of that school and get him in somewhere else.
That's my advice, as a mother I expect you to make up your own mind and I have no personal stake in it and won't presume to second guess you if you choose a different path. But keep in mind that my advice is based on working with special needs men and youth (who have years and years of medications under their belt), and as a parent of 3 absolutely challenging children, one of which had seizure disorder.
I know very well if I had taken my children into the doctor at the ages of 3 and 4, or even last year, I could easily have gotten a prescription from them, based on my statements and the statements of teachers/care providers etc. I chose not to, and I am thankful every single day that I didn't. They are developing into strong, bright individuals, and they are learning to cope with the issues they have...the impulse control issues (yup, we have that) and the sleep issues (yup) and the manic behavior (uh huh) and the racing thoughts (mm hmm)...
But it will age you. You're the one who is going to bear the brunt of their issues, if you choose to cope with your son's problems rather than medicate them. Because you're going to constantly be addressing various and assorted issues...giving him work arounds, staying up with him, walking him through difficulties, all that...it's going to land straight on you and you're not going to get any sleep. You'd get to sleep once in a while if you get the meds, because there will be times when he's completely doped up. And he will always know there's something wrong with him, because that medication will be there every single day, and there will always be people monitoring him, and drawing his blood, and adjusting his meds...
Make the world adjust to him, and help him to adjust as he must to the world. But don't medicate him at the behest of teachers, and for the sake of getting a little sleep.
